Time to acknowledge the importance of the “festival of light” in every Indian life and bask in the
glory of the festivities which also include the festival food. Divali is derived from the word
‘Dipavali’ meaning ‘a cluster of lights’. Rows and rows of small earthenware lamps are seen in
every home. Diwali is also known for fireworks which go on particularly for almost two to three
days and is especially very popular in kids and grown-ups.
Dipavali is a joyous celebration of the death of titan of hell, Narkasura at the hands of Lord
Krishna. This festivals like all other festivals and rituals, explains the inner personality of man
and his deliverance from his ignorance and ego to attainment of his supreme nature of Godrealisation.
Every man within him both positive and negative tendencies and to pull himself out
of the state of ignorance and ego, he has to employ his positive tendencies to direct his
attention to the higher Self.
Most of the culinary endeavors during this festival revolve around the myriad sweets which
form part of the symbolic transformation that brings about gaiety, joy, bliss and merry-making.
The sharing of sweets and food with friends and relatives next morning carries the new vision,
the vision of Divinity, the vision of Supreme self in one and all.
There are so many sweets which are shared during the occasion. I recount one of my favorites
called Lapsi which is a preparation of broken wheat and sugar. Broken wheat, in fact, is really
versatile as some of you can recollect its role in wheat porridge, haleem (Hyderabadi broken
wheat and ground lamb preparation). The broken wheat for this recipe is available in the
market and one can also obtain it in the home food processor.
Ingredients:
1 cup broken wheat (Dalia)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp green cardamom powder
1 tbsp chopped almond and pistachio
¼ cup full fat milk
5tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
Method:
In a pan, melt the sugar in milk, stir to dissolve equally.
In another pan, melt ghee and add broken wheat, stir from time to time and cook until wheat
takes on a golden hue and exudes nutty aroma.
Next add the sweet milk and bring to simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the grains
of wheat are soft and cooked. The good indication of this being ready would be the appearance
of ghee on the sides. Stir gently cardamom powder in the wheat pudding and garnish with
chopped almonds and pistachio.

Tags: kebab, balti, gosht, chana, naan, chettinad, dhokla, handi, lentil, desi

Even though the first nine days of Navratri celebration will essentially be vegetarian cuisine for most of the household celebrating the festival, it will keep the housewives, accomplished as well as the amateur cooks busy in honing their skill to prepare a lavish spread. The cost of vegetables are proving to be a dampener this time in this part of world due to unprecedented rains in most part of Maharashtra and flood at Nasik which is main source of supply to Mumbai and adjoining regions. Nevertheless, once in a year event will prevail and curries and kormas will again demand the limelight.

If one carefully browses through the menus available during the feast, most of the dishes would be similar to certain extent but the taste and flavor would be unique to each household.  Today we will take a look at the various menu options available which will help you to plan your menu for the occasion if you are looking for more than the usual festival foods.

Sweet Dishes:
Malpua (pancake in sugar syryp), Misti Doi (sweetened and thickened yogurt), Cheenar Payesh (Milk and nuts pudding), Rasgulla and rasmalai(sweetened cottage cheese dumpling), Kesar kheer (saffron flavoured rice pudiing), sabudana ki kheer (sago and milk pudding), makhane ki kheer (lotus root and nut pudding), Mingi paak (melon seed and reduced milk pudding) etc.

The appetizer may include:
Traditional aloo chaat, kurkure aloo (stuffed crispy potato), crispy colocassia (kurkuri arbi), Baingan bhaja (Aubergine fritter), sabudana vada (sago fritter), Dahi –papdi chaat (yogurt and semolina crisp appetizer), ghughni (spicy black gram preparation), exotic kachouri with chutneys etc.

The mention of main courses will sound like the never ending fable consisting of pleasant surprises such as
Gatte ki subji, matar paneer, dal panchratan, gul gobhi etc from Rajsthan to Tooriya posto charchari, aloo potol, cholar dal with coconut slivers, Luchi (Bengali pooris), sukhto (mix vegetable with bitter gourd). The western region may boast of preparations like kacche kele ke kofte (plaintain dumpling), aloo khus khus, kuttu ki poori and parathe (variety of buckwheat bread), cumin tempered rice, sabudana khichdi (sago and vegetable gruel), etc.

And the peripherals like pumpkin chutney, peanut chutney, aubergine pickle, moong sprout salad, tandoori fruit salad etc. Some of the very exotic recipes are also contained in the Indian Curry Manual available with us, so go ahead and try. Happy Navratri and Dusshera.

- Kuntal

Tags: chana, indian curry, tandoor, sambhar, karahi, vindaloo, kebab, desi, tandoori, handi

It is a happy co-incidence that last few days of Ramazan which culminated with Eid overlapped with the beginning of the days of Navratri which will culminate with Dusshera, the biggest festivals of Hindu. This assumes significance and encourages people to celebrate the festivals with each other, share the festive cuisine and develop the understanding for each other’s religion. It should also help bridge the gap of opinions and opinion-makers who should take pride in the long standing tradition of mutual trust and respect.

The celebration of Navratri is an opportunity to showcase the multitude of cuisine on offer across the whole of India and also re-emphasize the complexity and vastness of regional Indian cuisine. Some of the people who observe a fast during the day eat only one meal after the sunset without any intake of cereals or cereal based products. Even the salt used for the preparation of simple food is not so commonly used (Sendha namak), otherwise known as Rock salt. The food for the entire nine days of fasting is simple vegetarian and some of the houses do not even use onion and garlic to ensure “Saatvik (aesthetic) meal experience for the entire family.

In the parts of Maharashtra and Gujrat, the festival provides a unique opportunity to flex the dance skill popularly known as Dandiya/Garba which is played with two sticks. It does require some skill to play the sticks in tandem with each other and people do practice a lot to appear good in the company of other skilled players.

The feast in the east involves the best of fish dishes with generous amount of sweet dishes like payas (rice, milk and nuts pudding), and sandesh (range of reduced milk based sweets). It also brings the rich version of Indian cuisine which otherwise remains subdued for most part of the year barring few such occasions. One of the very popular recipes found during the occasion is “kachori” which can either be sweet or savoury with or vary from place to place as far as stuffinf is concerned.

Kachori
1 Cup refined flour
2tbsp ghee
½ cup split moong lentil(soaked)
¼ tsp Fennel seeds powder
¼ ajwain seeds
½ tsp Cumin  powder
¼ tsp Garam masala
½ tsp Red chilli powder
Pinch  Baking powder
Vegetable Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method:
Sieve flour with baking powder, add salt and stir well. Add enough water to make a smooth but semi hard dough. Rest for 30 minutes to improve the gluten.

Grind the soaked moong lentil coarsely. Heat ghee in a frying pan, crackle ajwain seeds followed by ground lentil and cook on medium heat to remove extra moisture. Add all the powders and stir to mix well. When the moong lentil paste will be almost semi-dry, remove from heat and allow cooling.

Divide the dough into equal balls, roll the dough a little, encase a small amount of stuffing and roll the dough ball round. Flatten a little using the palm of one hand and fingers of another. Heat the vegetable oil in a kadhai/ wok and deep fry the kachoris/ patties until nice golden brown. Drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil and serve with either chutney or pickle of your choice.

- Kuntal

Tags: tikka masala, indian food, karahi, paneer, chicken, indian curry, balti, bhatura, chana, kulfi

Celebrations of festivals have assumed significant proportions in the wake of religious unrest and much could have been contained by understanding the true values behind the festivals.

Sharing the food with neighbours and relatives has always been at the forefront of the culmination of these festivities which fostered brotherhood, understanding and empathy. While tracing the history of communal dining, one comes across the real purpose and noble motive behind such occasion.

Eid markes the end of fasting during the months of Ramazan or Ramadan and is celebrated starting on the first day of the lunar month of Shawwal. I also recount some of the occasions of lavish dining along with some of my friends celebrating Eid . How can I forget the aroma which used to permeate the entire room with exotic spices and curries. Zarda pulao, meat curries, biryanis, sewai (sevaiyan) laden with nuts,  evoke some fond memories of those evening experiences in the company of friends.

Recipe : Zarda Pulao
1 cups Basmati rice  (Long grain rice as a substitute)
1 ½ cups milk
½  cup water
½  cups sugar
½  cup ghee
½ cup mixed dried fruits
6 whole cloves
3 sticks cinnamon
few strands of saffron diluted with warm water
Pinch of salt

Method:
Wash the rice with soft hand twice or thrice until the water runs clear and then, soak for 15 minutes.
Melt ghee in a cooking pan and add cloves and cinnamon, fry for a minute until fragrant. Add rice and continue frying until all the grains are well coated with ghee. Pour milk and water over the rice and raise the heat to medium high. Add sugar and diluted saffron and cook for another 10minutes until the rice is cooked and fluffy.

Note: Some of houses also use canned pineapple which is diced and added to the pulao during the last minute of the cooking of rice. If using fresh pineapple, simmer on low heat in sugar syrup before adding to the rice.

Tags: roti, vindaloo, tikka masala, paneer, desi, tandoori, curries, sambhar, bhatura, murgh

Ganesha Chaturthi or Ganesha Utsav (the special day of the elephant-headed god “Ganesha” who is prayed as the first deity) falls on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (around August-September). It is celebrated all across India and is the biggest festival in Maharashtra. Even though you may encounter heavy traffic congestion, it is worthwhile to pay a visit to any part of Maharashtra especially Mumbai and Pune.

He has the head of an elephant on which is perched a dainty tiara, four podgy hands joined to a sizeable belly with each hand holding its own symbolic object. One hand has a trishul, or a trident, the second, an ankush, or goad made from his very own broken tooth; the third hand elegantly holds a lotus and the fourth a rosary (which is sometimes replaced by modaks – his favourite sweet). Ganesha is famous not only for being a trickster and for his sense of humour, but equally for his wisdom. He is the son of Shiva (Destroyer in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer) and Parvati (Shiva’s consort).

Ganesha is the foremost god of the Hindu pantheon. This brave guardian of the door to Parvati’s bath is beheld today as the most auspicious God of new beginnings. He is worshipped during every festival and before people undertakes a journey or embarks upon a new venture. You will also see him carefully guarding entrances to temples and homes, peeping out of calendars and happily gracing marriages and other such occasions.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2008: It’s being celebrated on 3rd September amidst traditional zeal and fervor all across India. The other interesting aspect of this festival is the various traditional offerings

Some of the famous dishes prepared at home during the festival are:
Besan ke laddo (round sweet of gram flour),
modak( sweet comprising of small pearls of gram flour),
moong dal halwa (moong lentil pudding),
Kaju ki burfi (cashewnut nut cake),
puliyodarai (tamarind spiced rice),
puran poli (sweetened bread stuffed with jiggery and Bengal gram) etc.

PURAN POLI

Ingredients

• 1 cup refined flour (Maida)
• 1 pinch Turmeric Powder
• few strands saffron
• 1 pinch Salt
• 2 tsp+1 tbsp Ghee
• Water enough to make dough
• 6 tbsp Oil
• For frying Oil / Ghee

Inner Filling

• 1 – 1/2 cup Jaggery (gur)
• 1 – 1/4 cup Bengal Gram Dal (chana dal)
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder

Method :
Blend the ghee with saffron, turmeric and refined flour. Make a soft dough using water and knead lightly. Leave under a wet cloth for 40-50 minutes.  Knead again. Put in the 6 tbsps oil and knead till completely absorbed. Cover and leave aside for 4 hours. Put the lentil in the cooker for one whistle, allow the steam to evaporate on its own before draining the water. Grind the lentil with jaggery and cardamom powder to a fine paste, slowly cook the mixture with the remaining ghee until lightly aromatic and thick paste like.
Make small balls of the filling. Divide the dough into small balls and flatten them so that it can encase the filling.

Place one ball of filling on the dough and cover and seal up the filling.
Carefully roll out the dough into thick bread like pooris making sure the filling does not come out.
Fry on a tawa pouring ghee around it. Cook on both sides and serve hot.

We Wish the readers a very happy and auspicious Ganesh puja and hope it brings lot of happiness in our lives.

- Kuntal and Puneet

Tags: balti, indian curry, murgh, naan, idli, chana, roti, karahi, dhokla, bhatura